


The Empty Spaces

by Smidget



Category: Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
Genre: Deleted Scenes, F/M, Filler, Shipping, between the lines, extras
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-24 07:03:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17096015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smidget/pseuds/Smidget
Summary: Basically a between-the-lines type of thing. Filling in the gaps that Colfer so kindly left for us to manipulate. What really happened between them in all those empty spaces that Colfer left for us?





	The Empty Spaces

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this in storage for a long time, but I only ever wrote into the first book, which is what I'm posting now. I'd love to keep it going, if I got the motivation to. So please let me know what you think and any ideas you guys have! I'd be glad to incorporate some in, if possible. And this first chapter is huge since it's all of the first book, but everything seemed too small to post on its own, and it seemed silly to split it up. 
> 
> Also, happy early holidays everyone! I'm trying to keep posting consistent through the time I have off, but we'll see how well that actually works when we get into the holidays.

Artemis trudged back towards the car, a few feet behind his bodyguard. Under normal circumstances, Butler would never have permitted this, but the proximity meter had already indicated that they were now the only ones in the area and he did have his hands full. 

 

“Where would you like her, sir?” Butler asked gruffly. 

 

Artemis paused, looking over the body bag and frowning slightly. The top was unzipped enough for her face to be exposed, lest she suffocate inside the sealed bag. The poor elf was obviously not resting peacefully; this was probably to be expected, considering she’d been abducted and tranquilized, but he hadn’t expected her to look so… traumatized and vulnerable, either.

 

He forced his eyes away. “Put her in the backseat, Butler,” he told him after a long moment of contemplation. Then, not waiting for the manservant to respond, he climbed into the passenger seat and pulled the door closed. 

 

As Butler climbed in beside him, his eyes rose to the rearview mirror, looking at the body bag containing the elf again. Her wild eyes flashed in his mind’s eye again, and he gritted his bag teeth, turning away.  _ It’s all part of the plan, _ he reminded himself sternly.

 

_ Capturing a female was not part of the plan, _ his brain responded immediately.

 

_ Gender changes nothing. It’s highly doubtful her value will deplete because of gender; after all, she wouldn’t be so well trained if females weren’t as equal with the fairies as they are with humans. _

 

_ It’s not the value of her gender that’s getting to you. It’s the fact she’s a girl...isn’t it? _

 

_ I won’t hurt her. That’s not part of the plan.  _

 

_ Maybe not anymore. _

 

“Stop!” he hissed under his breath. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.  _ Damn puberty. _

 

Butler glanced at him worriedly from the front seat. “Sir?” he questioned. “Is everything alright?” 

 

“I’m quite fine, Butler, I assure you. I just…” He paused, letting the sentence trail off as he sighed - two odd behaviors for Artemis Fowl. “Let’s just get back to the Manor. The sooner we get this thing going, the better.”

 

Butler didn’t look completely convinced, but he nodded nonetheless, starting the car.

 

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

 

Artemis crept silently onto the ship. 

 

There was no doubt in his mind that his plan would work. Butler would provide sufficient distraction to the guards, and, if his own crystallized breathing was any indication, the ship would still be plenty cold when he set it moving to be able to spot the fairies’ breaths. 

 

He made his way down the stairs into the back storeroom of the ship, the very lowest desk. He moved quickly - not for fear, but because time was of the essence and because Artemis did not like whalers. He found them to be wholly, morally wrong, and they were all environmental  disasters. He wanted out of this place as soon as possible. 

 

Setting up a small space in the back, he pulled the makeshift bomb out of his pocket and laid it onto the small, flat, table-like space he’d set up, checking it over completely before laying the now altered locator beside it. Then he glanced around and took a step back, observing his work. It seemed so simple and easy - placing them anyway. The surgery had been the hard part. This was the easy part. Now it was done.

 

Deciding he was satisfied with his work, he nodded and inhaled deeply, then turned on his heel and headed back out to the car.

 

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

  
  


Juliet came to meet them at the door as they pulled back into the Manor’s garage. 

 

“Hey, Arty. What took you guys so long?” She looked down at him and tilted her head, twirling a piece of blonde hair around her finger. 

 

Artemis was too focused at the moment to even acknowledge the nickname. “We caught one, Juliet. I’ll need some basic medical supplies. Butler,” he added, turning to glance at his bodyguard, who was currently unloading the hostage from the backseat, “Take her down to the cell, then you may begin your rounds. I shouldn’t need you for anything else.”

 

Both the Butlers nodded, turning and going their separate ways. Artemis sighed, following shortly after. He needed to shower and change quickly, then he’d attend to the hostage.

 

Fifteen minutes later, he arrived at the basement door, medical bag in hand. He ran a hand through his wet hair, breathing deeply, steeling himself before opening the door. Neither Butler nor Juliet had reported that the hostage was awake, but neither of them had been in yet. He himself hadn’t had time to check. She shouldn’t be, but there was no conclusive evidence of how her magic would affect the effects of the tranquilizer, so it was possible she’d awakened by now. 

 

He keyed in the lock code and pushed open the door.

 

The elf was still unconscious. Butler had thoughtfully laid her on the metal cot in the corner and laid a woolen blanket over her sleeping form. Artemis approached carefully, studying his captive for a minute. She really  _ was _ very pretty for such a fiery, not to mention mythical, creature. Her short red hair was messy now, flattened after her futile fight to escape. She was curled into a tight ball, her knees drawn to her chest with her arms around them - probably from instinct, purely to protect herself, even unconsciously. Or perhaps she could be cold, too, but he doubted that, considering she was covered up. 

 

He set down his medical kit and carefully pried the elf free from her tight ball, laying her out flat on the cot. She whimpered quietly, but otherwise didn’t stir or fight back. 

 

In this position, he caught a glimpse of the tag on her chest. Gnommish, of course, but he knew how to decipher it now. It was short and simple, giving her name and her rank:  _ Captain Holly Short _ .

 

Artemis allowed himself a small chuckle of amusement at the irony, then moved on. 

 

He pressed two slim fingers to the spot on her neck where he should have been able to feel the pulse on a human; thankfully, it seemed that the elves at least shared similar human anatomy, and he found it easily. Her pulse was normal, thrumming strongly beneath his fingers. He pulled his hand away with mild relief, pulling out a thermometer to check her temperature, which came out normal by human standards. She seemed to be in good health - on the inside, at least. 

 

He hadn’t seen any indications of any broken bones when she’d been conscious, but, deciding to be better safe than sorry, he probed over the elf’s body anyway. There were no bleeding spots or jutting bones that he could find, and though she shifted and made soft noises when he touched her, she never indicated any signs of pain, either; not even a flinch or a reflexive jerk.

 

Artemis sighed and made to cover her back up, then paused, an idea occurring to him. She’d already shown her strength and resilience to him; if he wanted anything from this elf, he’d have to take it now, or find a way to get leverage over her later.

 

He stopped, checking his bag to see if he had what he was looking for. It took him all of a minute to locate the alcohol preps, gauze pads, tape, and a sterile needle. This kit had everything one might need for a state of medical emergency; health of a charge was not something the Butlers messed around with.

 

Artemis pulled the blanket down from the elf and folded it to her waist, then reached up and took hold of the elf’s arm, pulling it to him and rolling up her sleeve. His fingers probed the crook of her elbow gently, searching for a vein beneath the spot of soft flesh. He located a good sized one, and ripped open a prep pad with his teeth, holding the vein firmly as he swabbed her arm. 

 

Holly whimpered, probably from the cool, stinging sensation of the wet alcohol wipe. He glanced at her face cautiously; she was still sleeping, but her eyes fluttered weakly. He should make quick work of this. 

 

Pausing to uncap the needle, he took a vial and screwed it on the end. If he was poking her, he might as well take a bit of blood to experiment with. She wouldn’t miss it. 

 

He cradled her elbow as he stuck the needle in her vein, fully expecting her to flinch. She hissed and her fingers curled compulsively into a fist, but her arm didn’t jerk. 

 

Artemis took two vials of blood and pocketed them, then pressed a cotton pad on her vein and taped it there. She’d be no worse for the wear.

 

He stood up, packing his supplies back into the bag and sighing as he covered the sleeping elf again. No doubt she’d fight like hell when she woke up, but he’d expected nothing less.

 

Taking another deep, steadying breath, he headed out the door, leaving his hostage to her sleep.

 

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

 

_ “Well then, Master Fowl,” she spat, heavy on the contempt, “if you know so much about us, then you know what happens when the locate me.” _

 

_ Artemis nodded absently. “Oh yes, I know. In fact, I’m counting on it.” _

 

_ It was Holly’s turn to grin. “Oh really. Tell me, boy, have you ever met a troll?” _

 

_ For the first time, the human’s confidence dropped a notch. “No. Never a troll.” _

 

_ Holly showed more teeth.  _

 

_ “You will, Fowl. You will. And I hope I’m there to see it.” _

 

Artemis recovered himself as he remembered something, but he held off from saying it. “Oh, really? Why is that? Hoping to witness my demise?”

 

Holly leaned back slightly, her feral grin fading a bit as she thought about it. “It’s only fair, isn’t it? You’re orchestrating mine.”

 

Artemis chuckled slightly to hid his annoyance. “Hardly, Captain. I’ve already told you I only want the ransom. Once I get it, you can go. It’s a very simple trade.”

 

“Simple?” For a moment, Holly stared at him, not sure what he thought could possibly be simple about kidnapping a mythical creature and exchanging it for its own gold. Then she shook it off, figuring he would likely be too hard-headed for her to change his mind. “Fine. Then it’s simple, as you say. What is the point of talking to me, then? I’m just the hostage, material for you to trade. You already know everything you need to, after all.” 

 

The way she said it sounded almost like a challenge, but he was smart enough not to bite. “Perhaps you’re right, Captain. There really is no point to this conversation. Except, of course, to keep you informed and make sure you understand that there is no point in entertaining any silly ideas.” He met her gaze again.

 

Holly knew she should look away, but she hated to give him any impression that she might be intimidated by him - especially because, deep inside, she knew she was. She swallowed. “And what silly ideas would you really be worried about me having, Master Fowl?”

 

Artemis moved towards the door. “I’m hardly  _ worried  _ about you getting ideas, Captain Short. I’m just trying to make things...easier, on you.” He turned and smirked at her, a few feet still from the door. “And to answer your question… well, things like what I want you for, for example.” His smirk grew. “Or that you could possibly escape.” He put his hand on the knob. “That is all, Holly.”

 

And he opened the door and slipped out. 

 

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

 

_ Butler rolled the unconscious troll on to an armored trolley, dragging it to the devastated doorway. With a huge heave, he jettisoned the lot into the suspended night. _

 

_ “And don’t come back,” he shouted. _

 

Holly lay still beneath the tapestry, feeling her body slowly reknit itself back into the shape. She could breathe again, barely, but her magic wasn’t done yet, not nearly enough that she could move.

 

Butler stepped away from the door and looked at her. She thought she saw worry on his face for a moment before it smoothed over again. “You’re… healing, right?”

 

“Yeah,” Holly managed to tell him. “I’m... I’ll be fine.”

 

The massive human nodded. “Then you don’t need me. I’ll be back. You know your orders.”

 

Holly just nodded. She closed her eyes as his footsteps faded away and didn’t open them again until she could feel most of her body again, and not from pain. 

 

She sat up slowly, checking to make sure nothing else was broken and everything worked. Deciding that it did, even if she did feel pretty weak, she pushed herself to her feet and wobbled back into the foyer. 

 

She saw Juliet’s discarded body and knelt beside her, concerned immediately. She didn’t seem to be extremely injured on the outside - her neck was trickling blood from a small cut, and she had a few bruises and scratches - but Holly didn’t find that reassuring. No one could say for sure what the inside looked like. 

 

Holly closed her eyes, concentrating and feeling how much magic she had left. Between healing Butler and herself, she was down considerably from “running hot”, but she still had plenty of magic left. Sighing, she put a hand on Juliet’s chest and closed her eyes again. “Heal.”

 

Her elfin ears picked up the sound of footsteps, but she was concentrating on healing Juliet, so she didn’t turn around even when they got close enough she could feel eyes on her. “Is she okay?” Butler asked from somewhere behind her. 

 

Holly didn’t turn around, and she didn’t have to to know that it wasn’t his eyes she could feel burning into her back. There was no doubt in her mind the only thing Butler would have walked away from the mess without his sister for was his charge, and after getting him here, his sister would be the only person he had eyes for now. She opened her eyes as the sparks stopped flowing from her hand. “She is now.” 

 

Butler knelt beside her, and Holly glanced at him briefly before standing up. He didn’t get a chance to thank her before Juliet’s eyes started to flutter open, but she knew anyway. 

 

She turned and walked away to give them some privacy, totally ignoring the other, adolescent human lingering a few feet from them. 

 

The door was basically destroyed. She could see out into the yard, the glimmering of the time stop barrier in the sky. Somewhere just beyond that, she knew her People were out there. But she couldn’t go to them… not yet, anyway.

 

Holly tensed suddenly as she sensed someone join her. 

 

“Captain Short,” Artemis said quietly. 

 

Holly ignored him totally, staring outside at the sky. Around the blue, shimmering barrier, she could see snow falling; pure, fluffy white flakes slowly falling towards the ground at an extremely slow-looking pace. She sighed. 

 

Artemis looked at her, and though she didn’t turn to face him, she could see the look he was giving her out of the corner of her eye. It was strange, especially for him, so much so she couldn’t really identify it. “I don’t suppose you’d tell me why you did it,” he finally said. 

 

Holly shot him a quick look, meeting his eyes for a split second. “I didn’t do it for you, Fowl. That’s all you need to know.” And with that, she activated her wings, fluttering to the ceiling level and lingering there to watch the snow fall until the time came.

 

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

 

_ “Now, Captain. About your magic.”  _

 

_ “What about it?” Holly’s eyes were hooded with suspicion.  _

 

_ “What would I have to do to buy a wish?” _

 

_ Holly glanced at the trolley. “Well, that depends. What do you have to bargain with?” _

 

Artemis followed her gaze. “No.”

 

Holly raised an eyebrow. “No gold, no wish, Mud Boy. How bad do you want it?”

 

Artemis frowned at her. “I merely meant not all of it, Captain. I’ll give you… a fair slice of it, if you can promise me a wish.”

 

“Half,” Holly demanded.

 

The corner of his mouth turned up. “Something like that, yes.”

 

Holly nodded, grudgingly. “Fine. So what’s this wish of yours? And keep in mind, I’m not some fairy godmother from your human fairy tales. There is a limit - and not just to what my magic can do, but what I’m willing to do with it.”

 

Artemis chuckled. “You really think so low of me that you believe I would ask you do something against your values, Holly?”

 

Holly looked him in the eyes. “Let’s just say I wouldn’t put anything past you, Fowl. So spit it out. What is it?” 

 

Artemis looked away, his eyes lingering on the stairs in the distance. Holly frowned at him, but he spoke before she could say anything to him. “It’s nothing as bad as you would like to believe. It’s fairly simple, actually - you’ve already done it several times tonight.” He looked back at her, meeting her eyes again. Mindful of her magic and not wanting to make her do anything against her will, he chose his words carefully. “I would like you to heal someone.”

 

Holly blinked at him suspiciously. As far as she knew, the only person he cared about was himself. And aside from him, the only other two people in the manor were Butler and Juliet, and she’d already healed both of them. 

 

As if reading her mind, Artemis shook his head. “It’s neither of them, Holly, nor even myself. It’s…” He looked towards the stairs again. “My mother.”

 

“Your...mother.” Holly almost didn’t believe it. This whole time, she hadn’t seen any sign of any parents of his, and she hadn’t expected to before she left, truth be told. “What’s wrong with her?”

 

“She’s depressed. And has been for quite some time.” He sighed, barely audibly, but Holly caught it nonetheless. “It’s to the point where she’s got herself sick and bedridden from it. I’ve tried what I can, but… I’m steadily running out of options, and she’s steadily declining.”

 

Holly winced. She knew the feeling of having to watch one’s mother deteriorate slowly, without being able to do anything to stop it or make it better. “Okay,” she agreed. “I… can try. Depression is a tricky thing though, Artemis. I can’t guarantee anything.” 

 

“It’s worth the risk.” He glanced back at the cart of gold. “About the payment-”

 

“Don’t,” Holly interrupted. He looked at her, startled for a brief moment. He quickly masked his face again, but she could still see confusion in his eyes. “Look, I get it, okay? Enough said. Don’t worry about the payment. Just… tell me where she is-”

 

“She isn’t here right now,” Artemis interjected smoothly. He gave nothing away, although now his eyes had taken on that mischievous glint again. “That’s… a bit of a catch. If you can get back, I’ll leave you a way to get back in. She’ll be on the very top floor.”

 

Holly narrowed her eyes, sensing something off about this. She was depressed and bedridden, but conveniently not there at the time he was asking her for this favor? It didn’t completely add up, but she knew better than to ask. “Fine. I will be back, then.”

 

Artemis smiled once, briefly, and for half a second she caught a glimpse of the decent, not-so-evil little boy he could have been. Then it was gone. “Then I thank you, Captain Short,” the boy said, suddenly back to being overly formal. He glanced back towards the door. “For everything.” He turned to Butler. “Separate approximately half the gold back onto Captain Short’s trolley.”

 

Butler looked mildly confused, but he did as he was told without asking. Holly shot him a look, but before she could say anything, Artemis held up a hand. “You deserve it, Holly. I don’t. Besides, maybe it’ll help keep you out of trouble.” He smirked slightly. 

 

Holly rolled her eyes. “You got it, Mud Boy.” She moved closer to the trolley.

 

Artemis glanced at his watch, then at the door. Whatever he saw, she didn’t know, but he turned to her and gestured toward the door. 

 

The meaning was clear. It was time for her to go.   
  



End file.
